Method of forming noble metal pattern

ABSTRACT

A process for high resolution patterning of noble metals, such as platinum, for forming various semiconductor devices, such as capacitors or wiring patterns, is disclosed. A layer of noble metal, which will form an upper electrode of a capacitor, is formed over a dielectric layer. A mask layer is then formed over the noble metal layer and patterned to leave a portion of the noble metal layer exposed. The portion of the exposed noble metal is subsequently converted to its silicide, the noble metal silicide is then etched and the dielectric layer is removed, leaving the noble metal layer patterned in an upper electrode of an IC capacitor.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to the field of semiconductor industry and, in particular, to a method of patterning noble metals for use in semiconductor devices such as capacitors.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

As the overall dimensions of semiconductor devices continue to decrease, the demand for devices which can be patterned with high-resolution continues to increase. The need for smaller surface area available for components, such as capacitors or transistors, along with the requirement to maintain high-reliability electrical connections, have led researchers in the semiconductor field to seek new materials for such components.

For example, promising candidates for the upper electrode materials for capacitor electrodes in integrated circuit (IC) memory structures include the eight noble metals (platinum (Pt), palladium (Pd), iridium (Ir), ruthenium (Ru), rhodium (Rh), osmium (Os), silver (Ag) and gold (Au)), as well as their oxides (for example, ruthenium oxide (RuO₂), iridium oxide (IrO₂) or osmium oxide (OsO₂), among others). The above-mentioned noble metals, of which platinum (Pt) is the most common, are all physically and chemically similar. They are also rather stable, or capable of forming conductive oxides (so the capacitance remains unchanged) in oxidizing, reducing, or inert atmospheres at high temperatures. These metals are also resistant to hydrogen damage, and do not affect the dielectric polarization after annealing at high temperatures.

Recently, particular attention has been accorded to platinum (Pt) mainly because platinum has a very low reactivity and is inert to oxidation, thus preventing oxidation of electrodes which would further decrease the capacitance of storage capacitors. Platinum also has a leakage current lower than that of other electrode materials, for example ruthenium oxide or polysilicon, as well as a high electrical conductivity. Further, platinum is known to have a notably high work function. The work function is an important feature of a DRAM electrode material and, when quantified, it denotes the energy required to remove one electron from the metal. Advanced DRAM cells are characterized by a dominant leakage mechanism, known as the Schottky emission from metal into the dielectric, so that metals, like platinum, with high work function produce less leakage.

The use of platinum as the material of choice for upper capacitor electrodes poses, however, significant problems. One of them arises from the difficulty of etching and/or polishing of platinum and the corresponding need to precisely etch the platinum into the shape of the desired capacitor electrode. The etching process, which is repeated many times in the formation of IC chips, typically employs at least one chemical etchant which reacts with, and removes, the film or layer that is etched. Noble metals, such as platinum, however, are not highly reactive with such chemical etchants and, consequently, noble metals require specialized etching methods and/or highly-reactive chemical etchants.

Two methods are currently used for platinum etching. The first method is an isotropic etching, such as wet etching with aqua regia (mix ratio of concentrated hydrochloric acid: concentrated nitric acid: water=3:1:4), that offers a very low grade of precision. Consequently, such wet etching is not accurate enough for the fine pattern processing, rendering it difficult to perform submicron patterning of platinum electrodes.

The second method is an anisotropic etching, such as the ion beam etching process, under which ions, such as argon, generated by a magnetically confined RF or DC plasma bombard an exposed platinum surface. While the ion etching process is used to define and form high resolution patterns from a blanket platinum layer, this process is typically not selective to many masking materials as well as to the layers underlying the platinum layer. Further, the ion etching process removes most materials at about the same rate, making control of process very difficult.

A further problem with the anisotropic etching of noble metals is that, during the etching process, the photoresist material, which typically masks the noble metal layer, is also etched at a substantial rate, along with the noble metal. This causes the sides of the photoresist mask to shrink and, as a result, the underlying features which were intended to be masked are etched beyond their intended critical dimension. As a consequence, capacitor electrodes, for example, are spaced further apart than desired. This is turn affects the device density on the integrated circuit, which in turn decreases the number of chips to be fabricated on a single wafer.

Accordingly, there is a need for an improved method of patterning of noble metals, such as platinum, during the formation of IC components, such as capacitors or transistors. There is also a need for high-resolution patterning of a noble metal layer during the formation of an upper capacitor electrode, as well as a method for increasing processing accuracy in etching such noble metal.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention provides a method for the selective removal of portions of a noble metal layer employed in the formation of various semiconductor devices, such as capacitors, as well as a method for increasing processing accuracy in etching such noble metals.

In an exemplary embodiment, a layer of noble metal, which will form an upper electrode of a capacitor, is first formed over a dielectric layer. A mask layer is then deposited over the noble metal layer. The mask layer is then patterned to leave a portion of the noble metal layer exposed. The portion of the exposed noble metal is subsequently converted to its silicide, the noble metal silicide is then etched and the insulating layer is removed, leaving the noble metal layer patterned in a conventional upper electrode of an IC capacitor. In a preferred embodiment, platinum (Pt) is used for the upper electrode.

Additional advantages of the present invention will be more apparent from the detailed description and accompanying drawings, which illustrate preferred embodiments of the invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is schematic cross-sectional view of a portion of a memory DRAM device, in which an upper capacitor platinum electrode will be formed according to an exemplary embodiment of a method of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the FIG. 1 device at a stage of processing subsequent to that shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the FIG. 1 device at a stage of processing subsequent to that shown in FIG. 2.

FIG. 4 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the FIG. 1 device at a stage of processing subsequent to that shown in FIG. 3.

FIG. 5 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the FIG. 1 device at a stage of processing subsequent to that shown in FIG. 4.

FIG. 6 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the FIG. 1 device at a stage of processing subsequent to that shown in FIG. 5.

FIG. 7 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the FIG. 1 device at a stage of processing subsequent to that shown in FIG. 6.

FIG. 8 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the FIG. 1 device at a stage of processing subsequent to that shown in FIG. 7.

FIG. 9 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the FIG. 1 device at a stage of processing subsequent to that shown in FIG. 8.

FIG. 10 is an illustration of a computer system having a memory device with a capacitor having an upper platinum electrode formed in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

In the following detailed description, reference is made to various specific embodiments in which the invention may be practiced. These embodiments are described with sufficient detail to enable those skilled in the art to practice the invention, and it is to be understood that other embodiments may be employed, and that structural, logical, and electrical changes may be made without departing from the spirit or scope of the present invention.

The term “substrate” used in the following description may include any semiconductor-based structure that has an exposed silicon surface. Structure must be understood to include silicon, silicon-on insulator (SOI), silicon-on sapphire (SOS), doped and undoped semiconductors, epitaxial layers of silicon supported by a base semiconductor foundation, and other semiconductor structures. The semiconductor need not be silicon-based. The semiconductor could be silicon-germanium, germanium, or gallium arsenide. When reference is made to substrate in the following description, previous process steps may have been utilized to form regions or junctions in or on the base semiconductor or foundation.

The term “noble metal” is intended to include not only elemental noble metal, but noble metal with other trace metals or in various alloyed combinations with other metals as known in the semiconductor art, as long as such alloy retains the physical and chemical properties of the noble metal. The term “noble metal” is also intended to include oxides of such noble metals.

The present invention provides a method for patterning of noble metals, such as platinum, during the formation of IC components, such as capacitors or wiring patterns. The invention converts portions of the noble metal layer to its silicide, followed by removal of the noble metal silicide, to leave various patterned geometric features of semiconductor memory devices, such as an upper capacitor electrode. The method of the present invention also increases the processing accuracy in patterning noble metals.

Referring now to the drawings, where like elements are designated by like reference numerals, FIG. 1 depicts a memory cell construction for a DRAM at an intermediate stage of the fabrication, in which a pair of memory cells having respective access transistors are formed on a substrate 12. The memory cell of FIG. 1 will include a capacitor 100 (FIG. 9), which will employ an upper capacitor electrode formed of a noble metal patterned by a method of the present invention.

The FIG. 1 structure includes the substrate 12 having a well 13, which is typically doped to a predetermined conductivity, for example p-type or n-type depending on whether NMOS or PMOS transistors will be formed therein. The structure further includes field oxide regions 14, conventional doped active areas 16 for use as source/drain regions, and a pair of gate stacks 30, all formed according to well-known semiconductor processing techniques. The gate stacks 30 include an oxide layer 18, a conductive layer 20, such as doped polysilicon, nitride spacers 32 and a nitride cap 22.

Above the gate oxide region 18, the polysilicon gates 20, and the protective nitride regions 22, 32, a first insulating layer 24 (FIG. 1) is disposed. Insulating layer 24 could be, for example, silicon oxide (SiO₂), borophosphosilicate glass (BPSG), borosilicate glass (BSG), or phosphosilicate glass (PSG).

Reference is now made to FIG. 2, which for simplicity illustrates only a lateral portion, for example the right side portion, of FIG. 1. This is a region where a contact plug 50 (FIG. 2) and an overlying capacitor structure 100 (FIG. 9), including an upper platinum electrode formed according to a method of the present invention, will be formed. To create the contact plug 50 (FIG. 2), a first contact opening is formed by using conventional photolithography and etching steps in insulating layer 24. The first contact opening extends to a source/drain region 16 provided in well 13 of substrate 12.

Next, the first contact opening (not shown) formed into the first insulating layer 24 is filled with a conductive material, such as doped polysilicon, that is planarized down to or near the planar surface of the first insulating layer 24, to form a polysilicon plug or filler 50, as illustrated in FIG. 2. The polysilicon plug 50 is then anisotropically etched until its top surface is recessed below the planar surface of the first insulating layer 24, so that a barrier layer 52 (FIG. 2) can be deposited and planarized, as shown in FIG. 2. The barrier layer 52, preferably of titanium (Ti), is formed on the polysilicon plug 50 by CVD, PVD, sputtering or evaporation, to a thickness of about 60 to about 200 Angstroms. The titanium barrier layer 52 could form titanium silicide (TiSi₂) during a later high temperature anneal.

Although the present invention is described herein with reference to forming a capacitor 100 (FIG. 9) over the polysilicon plug 50, including the barrier layer 52, it must be understood that the existence of the barrier layer 52 is optional, and the present invention also applies to capacitors formed over polysilicon plugs without a protective barrier layer 52.

FIG. 2 also depicts a second insulating layer 25 which is next deposited over the barrier layer 52 and the first insulating layer 24. The second insulating layer 25 could be, for example, silicon oxide (SiO₂), borophosphosilicate glass (BPSG), borosilicate glass (BSG), phosphosilicate glass (PSG), or tetraethylortho silicate (TEOS). Again, using the same fabrication technique as the one used for the formation of the first contact opening (not shown) through the first insulating layer 24, a second contact opening 41 (FIG. 2) is formed through the second insulating layer 25.

Reference is now made to FIG. 3. After the formation of second contact opening 41 of FIG. 2, a lower capacitor electrode 60 is formed into the second contact opening 41, as shown in FIG. 3.

The lower capacitor electrode 60 (FIG. 3) may be formed, for example, of a layer of conductive material, formed into the second contact opening 41 and over the second insulating layer 25, which is then patterned and etched or planarized according to well-known methods of the prior art. The layer of conductive material (not shown) can be formed into the second contact opening 41 and overlying the second insulating layer 25 by any conventional method, such as deposition or sputtering, to a thickness of approximately 50 to 300 Angstroms, more preferably of about 100 Angstroms. The lower capacitor electrode 60 (FIG. 3) may be formed of a noble metal, such as platinum (Pt) or iridium (Ir), or of any other suitable conductive material, such as a conventional metal or doped polysilicon.

Also shown in FIG. 3, a dielectric layer 62 is then formed over the lower capacitor electrode 60 and the second insulating layer 25 by conventional methods, for example, deposition or spin coating, to a thickness of about 100 Angstroms. Increasingly popular materials for the dielectric layer 62 are the ferroelectrics, such as PZT (lead (Pb) zirconate titanate) or BaTiO₂ (barium titanite). However, other conventional insulating materials, such as silicon oxides, silicon nitrides, silicon oxynitrides or carbides, may be used also, in accordance with the processing requirements and the characteristics of the particular IC device. Further, high-dielectric constant materials, such as titanium oxide (TiO₂) barium oxide (BaO) tantalum oxide (Ta₂O₅) or ruthenium oxide (Ru₂O₃), may be used also, again according to the characteristics of the particular IC devices to be constructed at subsequent steps.

After the formation of the dielectric layer 62 (FIG. 3), a noble metal layer 65 is formed over the dielectric layer 62, as shown in FIG. 4. Although any of the eight noble metals and their alloys and oxides mentioned above may be used for forming the noble metal layer 65, platinum is preferred and, thus, further reference to the noble metal layer 65 will be made as to platinum layer 65. After undergoing patterning according to a method of the present invention, platinum layer 65 will form an upper platinum electrode 70 (FIG. 9) of capacitor 100 (FIG. 9).

Platinum layer 65 (FIG. 4) could be formed over the dielectric layer 62 by any conventional method, such as deposition or sputtering, to a thickness of approximately 50 to 300 Angstroms, more preferably of about 100 Angstroms.

Reference is now made to FIG. 5, which illustrates a protective layer 66 formed overlying the platinum layer 65. The protective layer 66 is a hard mask material which is easy to etch and may be deposited, for example, by using plasma, reactive sputtering or a conventional chemical vapor deposition, to a thickness of about 100 Angstroms. Preferred materials for the protective layer 66 are low silane oxide, silicon oxide, silicon, titanium nitride, titanium, tantalum nitride or tantalum, among others. In particular, titanium nitride and tantalum nitride are desirable since they are easy to deposit, they have good step coverage and they adhere well to the platinum layer 65.

Next, the protective layer 66 is patterned by well-known photolithography processes to form a predetermined pattern which corresponds to that of a desired finished upper capacitor electrode, as illustrated in FIG. 6. This way, protective region 66 a corresponds to upper platinum electrode 70 (FIG. 9), while region 66 b corresponds to an upper capacitor electrode of an adjacent capacitor (not shown) which could be also formed within the second insulating layer 25 in a manner similar to that of forming the capacitor 100 (FIG. 9). The patterning of the protective layer 66 leaves a portion 65 a of the platinum layer 65 exposed, as illustrated in FIG. 6.

In FIGS. 7-8, a blanket silicon film 67, such as polysilicon, for example, is formed on the entire structure of FIG. 6 by conventional deposition methods, for example, a low pressure chemical vapor deposition (LPCVD) process at an anneal temperature of approximately 400° C. to 600° C., more preferably of about 450° C. This way, silicon from the silicon film 67 reacts with platinum from the exposed platinum region 65 a of the platinum layer 65, to form a platinum silicide (Pt₂Si) 69, as illustrated in FIG. 8. For higher anneal temperatures, for example of about 500° C., platinum is converted to a different form of platinum silicide, that is PtSi, and not Pt₂Si, which characterizes lower temperature anneals. In any event, the platinum silicide 69 is then etched by using a dry etch (for example an isoptropic dry etch using a fluorine containing gas) or a wet etch (for example H₂O₂ and H₂SO₄ at a 10:1 volume ratio) to obtain the upper platinum electrode 70, illustrated in FIG. 9. This way, capacitor 100 (FIG. 9) is formed of the lower capacitor electrode 60, the dielectric layer 62, and the upper platinum electrode 70. To this end, further well-known processing steps to create a functional memory cell containing the capacitor 100 (FIG. 9) may now be carried out.

A typical processor based system 400 which includes a memory circuit 448, for example a DRAM, SRAM, MCM, containing a capacitor including an upper platinum electrode constructed according to the present invention is illustrated in FIG. 10. A processor system, such as a computer system, generally comprises a central processing unit (CPU) 444, such as a microprocessor, a digital signal processor, or other programmable digital logic device, which communicates with an input/output (I/O) device 446 over a bus 452. The memory 448 communicates with the central processing unit 444 over bus 452.

In the case of a computer system, the processor system may include peripheral devices such as a floppy disk drive 454 and a compact disk (CD) ROM drive 456 which also communicate with CPU 444 over the bus 452. Memory 448 is preferably constructed as an integrated circuit, which includes at least one capacitor having an upper electrodes formed of a noble metal and patterned as previously described with respect to the embodiment described in connection with FIGS. 1-9. The memory 448 may also be combined with the processor, for example CPU 444, on a single integrated circuit chip.

Although the exemplary embodiment described above refers to the formation of an upper platinum electrode as part of the capacitor 100 (FIGS. 1-9), it must be understood that the present invention contemplates the formation of other geometrical noble metal features that form various IC components, for example, patterned wiring, and it is not limited to capacitors. Rather, the present invention contemplates patterning of noble metals by the method described above to form various features as part of any IC device.

Also, although the exemplary embodiment described shows formation of a container capacitor, such as capacitor 100 of FIG. 9, the invention is further applicable to any other type of IC capacitors currently used in the semiconductor industry. As such, the method of the present invention contemplates ferroelectric capacitors, MIM (metal-insulator-metal) capacitors, MIS (metal-insulator-semiconductor) capacitors or high-dielectric constant capacitors, among others, according to the characteristics of the particular IC device.

Further, although the exemplary embodiment described above refers to platinum as the preferred material for the upper capacitor electrode, as explained above, any of the other seven noble metals and/or their alloys or oxides may be used also and, thus, the invention must not be limited to the use of platinum.

Accordingly, the above description and drawings are only to be considered illustrative of exemplary embodiments which achieve the features and advantages of the present invention. Modification and substitutions to specific process conditions and structures can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. Accordingly, the invention is not to be considered as being limited by the foregoing description and drawings, but is only limited by the scope of the appended claims. 

What is claimed as new and desired to be protected by Letters Patent of the United States is:
 1. A method of forming a semiconductor device, comprising the steps of: forming a metal layer over an insulating layer provided over a semiconductor substrate, said metal layer comprising a material selected from the group consisting of platinum, iridium, iridium oxide, ruthenium, ruthenium oxide, rhodium, osmium, osmium oxide, silver and gold; forming a protective layer over at least one portion of said metal layer, leaving at least another portion of said metal layer exposed; converting said at least another portion of said metal layer exposed to a metal silicide; and removing said metal silicide.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein said metal layer is a platinum layer.
 3. The method of claim 2, wherein said platinum layer is formed by deposition to a thickness of approximately 50 to 300 Angstroms.
 4. The method of claim 2, wherein said platinum layer has a thickness of approximately 100 Angstroms.
 5. The method of claim 1, wherein said protective layer is formed of a material selected from the group consisting of low silane oxide, silicon oxide, silicon, titanium nitride, titanium, tantalum nitride and tantalum.
 6. The method of claim 1, wherein said protective layer is a low silane oxide layer.
 7. The method of claim 1, wherein said protective layer is a titanium nitride layer.
 8. The method of claim 1, wherein said protective layer is a tantalum nitride layer.
 9. The method of claim 1, wherein said protective layer is a silicon oxide layer.
 10. The method of claim 1, wherein said step of converting said at least another portion of said metal layer exposed to a metal silicide is achieved by applying silicon.
 11. The method of claim 10, said step of converting said at least another portion of said metal layer exposed to a metal silicide is further achieved by annealing at a temperature of approximately 400° C. to 600° C.
 12. The method of claim 11, wherein said step of converting said at least another portion of said metal layer exposed is achieved by annealing at a temperature of about 450° C.
 13. The method of claim 1, wherein said metal silicide is a noble metal silicide.
 14. The method of claim 1, wherein said metal silicide is a noble metal alloy silicide.
 15. The method of claim 1, wherein said metal silicide is platinum silicide.
 16. The method of claim 1, wherein said step of removing said metal silicide is achieved by etching said metal silicide.
 17. The method of claim 1 further comprising the step of removing said protective layer.
 18. The method of claim 1, wherein said metal layer forms an upper capacitor electrode of said semiconductor device.
 19. A method of forming an upper capacitor electrode on a semiconductor substrate, comprising the steps of: forming a dielectric layer over a lower capacitor electrode provided over said semiconductor substrate, said dielectric layer comprising a material selected from the group consisting of ferroelectric materials and high-dielectric constant materials; forming a metal layer over said dielectric layer; forming a protective layer over portions of said metal layer, leaving at least other portions of said metal layer exposed; converting to a metal silicide at least one of said exposed portions of said metal layer; and removing said metal silicide.
 20. The method of claim 19, wherein said metal layer contains a material selected from the group consisting of noble metals, noble metal alloys and noble metal oxides.
 21. The method of claim 20, wherein said metal layer is a noble metal layer.
 22. The method of claim 21, wherein said metal layer is a platinum layer.
 23. The method of claim 22, wherein said platinum layer is formed by deposition to a thickness of approximately 50 to 300 Angstroms.
 24. The method of claim 23, wherein said platinum layer has a thickness of approximately 100 Angstroms.
 25. The method of claim 19, wherein said metal layer is a noble metal alloy layer.
 26. The method of claim 19, wherein said metal layer is a noble metal oxide layer.
 27. The method of claim 19, wherein said protective layer is formed of a material selected from the group consisting of low silane oxide, silicon oxide, silicon, titanium nitride, titanium, tantalum nitride and tantalum.
 28. The method of claim 19, wherein said protective layer is a low silane oxide layer.
 29. The method of claim 19, wherein said protective layer is a titanium nitride layer.
 30. The method of claim 19, wherein said protective layer is a tantalum nitride layer.
 31. The method of claim 19, wherein said protective layer is a silicon oxide layer.
 32. The method of claim 19, wherein said step of converting to said metal silicide said least one of said exposed portions of said metal layer is achieved by applying silicon.
 33. The method of claim 19, wherein said step of converting to said metal silicide said least one of said exposed portions of said metal layer is achieved by annealing at a temperature of approximately 400° C. to 600° C.
 34. The method of claim 19, wherein said step of converting to metal silicide said least one of said exposed portions of said metal layer is achieved by annealing at a temperature of about 450° C.
 35. The method of claim 19, wherein said step of removing said metal silicide is achieved by etching said metal silicide.
 36. The method of claim 19, wherein said metal silicide is a noble metal silicide.
 37. The method of claim 19, wherein said metal silicide is a noble metal alloy silicide.
 38. The method of claim 19, wherein said metal silicide is platinum silicide.
 39. The method of claim 19, wherein said lower capacitor electrode is formed of a material selected from the group consisting of metals, noble metals and doped polysilicon.
 40. A method of forming an upper capacitor electrode on a semiconductor substrate, comprising the steps of: forming a dielectric layer over a lower capacitor electrode provided over said semiconductor substrate; forming a platinum layer over said dielectric layer; forming a protective layer over portions of said platinum layer, leaving at least other portions of said platinum layer exposed; converting to a platinum silicide at least one of said exposed portions of said platinum layer; and removing said platinum silicide.
 41. The method of claim 40, wherein said protective layer is formed of a material selected from the group consisting of low silane oxide, silicon oxide, silicon, titanium nitride titanium, tantalum nitride and tantalum.
 42. The method of claim 40, wherein said lower capacitor electrode is formed of a material selected from the group consisting of metals, noble metals and doped polysilicon.
 43. A method of forming an upper capacitor electrode on a semiconductor substrate, comprising the steps of: forming a dielectric layer over a lower capacitor electrode provided over said semiconductor substrate; forming a metal layer over said dielectric layer, said metal layer comprising a material selected from the group consisting of platinum, iridium, iridium oxide, ruthenium, ruthenium oxide, rhodium, osmium, osmium oxide, silver and gold; forming a protective layer over portions of said metal layer, leaving at least other portions of said metal layer exposed; converting to a metal silicide at least one of said exposed portions of said metal layer; and removing said metal silicide.
 44. The method of claim 43, wherein said protective layer is formed of a material selected from the group consisting of low silane oxide, silicon oxide, silicon, titanium nitride, titanium, tantalum nitride and tantalum.
 45. The method of claim 43, wherein said lower capacitor electrode is formed of a material selected from the group consisting of metals, noble metals and doped polysilicon. 